OVERVIEW

JOB PURPOSE

The Senior Pension Specialist plays a key role in ensuring the long-term sustainability, competitiveness, and effective governance of the IsDB Group’s Staff Retirement Plan and Post-Retirement Medical Benefit Plan, which are vital for attracting and retaining talent. The incumbent is responsible for administering, analyzing, and enhancing these plans as needed. This includes facilitating plan administration and governance processes, managing related committee meetings at both Management and BED levels, and contributing to strategic initiatives through technical analysis, policy development, actuarial and market studies, and vendor management. The role ensures that all plans are financially sustainable, comply with governing policies and best international practices, and align with peer benchmarks to optimize fund performance and protect beneficiaries' interests.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Pension Administration & Service Delivery Excellence
• Oversee the administration of all pension plan components, including Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC), ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant processing of benefits, contributions and payments.
• Coordinate and oversee retirement and separation processes, including normal, early, deferred, disability/death retirement, withdrawal benefits, and survivor benefits, in collaboration with relevant HRM functions.
• Review, validate, and clear pension-related computations and transactions processed by pension specialists, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and adherence to applicable plan rules.
• Review, validate, and clear HRM actions related to the restoration of service and self-contributory service in cases of unpaid leave or secondment.
• Oversee the maintenance of member records, contribution histories, and authenticated documentation, ensuring data integrity and the continued eligibility of retired participants and qualified beneficiaries.
• Establish and review mechanisms and processes for updating monthly DC statements based on unit values provided by external fund managers, ensuring staff have timely and accurate visibility of their DC account balances.
• Provide retirement counseling, guidance, and targeted communication initiatives to active participants, retired participants, and qualified beneficiaries, including education on DC investment options and retirement planning.
• Provide ongoing coaching, technical guidance, and quality assurance oversight to pension administration staff to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery.

Pension & Post-Retirement Medical Plans Rules Review and Enhancement
• Design, review, and propose enhancements to existing and/or alternative pension and post-retirement medical arrangements, benchmarked against peer institutions, industry practices, and international standards.
• Ensure alignment of pension and post-retirement medical benefit structures with the Bank’s HR strategy, particularly to support staff attraction, retention, and orderly workforce transitions.
• Provide technical and actuarial input on proposed changes to pension design and retiree medical benefits, assessing financial, operational, and risk implications.
• Draft, review, and update the rules governing the IsDB Group staff retirement plan and post-retirement medical plan, ensuring clarity, consistency, and alignment with approved design features and best practices.
• Monitor regulatory, market, and peer institutions to identify trends and recommend enhancements to IsDB Group’s staff retirement plan and post-retirement medical plan.
• Conduct structured surveys and consultations with active participants, retirees, and qualified beneficiaries to assess satisfaction levels and test new initiatives for continuous improvement of the plans.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Actuarial, Financial, and Analytical Oversight
• Oversee and coordinate triennial actuarial valuations, annual accounting valuations, and ad hoc actuarial studies for the staff retirement plan and post-retirement medical plan, working closely with external actuaries to ensure accurate and timely outcomes.
• Conduct trend analysis to validate actuarial assumptions, including observed and projected salaries, turnover rates, investment returns and demographic trends, recognizing their pivotal role in ensuring accurate liability measurement and aligning fund performance with long-term sustainability objectives.
• Model and assess the impact of demographic, economic, and rules changes through long-term projections, sensitivity analysis, and selected scenario testing.
• Undertake periodic financial sustainability and affordability-based reviews of pension and post-retirement medical schemes, including retiree pension adequacy and discretionary adjustment assessments.
• Analyze investment performance and evaluate its impact on plan liabilities, funding status, and long-term sustainability.
• Prepare analytical reports and actionable recommendations for Management and governance Committees on actuarial, financial, and sustainability matters.
• Support the implementation of annual financial and audit activities, including coordination with external actuaries and auditors, validation of actuarial assumptions, and clarification and response to auditors’ queries.

Pension Governance and Oversight
• Serve as HRMD’s focal point for the Pension Committees and RMSF Executive Committee, including preparation and presentation of proposals, policy papers, analyses, and updates to Committees, Management, and BED, and follow-up on decisions.
• Oversee and conduct periodic elections among active and retired participants for membership on the Pension Committees and the RMSF Executive Committee, in accordance with approved governance frameworks and regulations.
• Coordinate and support governance processes, including the planning and administration of Pension and RMSF Committee meetings, ensuring timely documentation and effective implementation of outcomes.
• Monitor and report on compliance with plan rules, internal governance frameworks, regulatory requirements, and audit and risk control standards.
• Collaborate with Financial Control, Investment, and Treasury teams to provide technical input on asset allocation, investment performance, funding strategies, and the overall financial sustainability of the plans.
• Oversee compliance and performance monitoring of DC investments in coordination with internal and external custodians and investment managers.
• Standardize and improve pension administration processes, implement technology solutions, and manage service level agreements (SLAs) to enhance efficiency, reliability, and service quality.

Vendor and Stakeholder Management
• Develop, implement, and monitor a communication strategy for active and retired participants, as well as qualified beneficiaries, to enhance their awareness with the various pension and post-retirement medical plans.
• Manage external actuarial, legal, and administrative service providers to ensure quality deliverables and alignment with IsDB needs.
• Serve as the internal advisor to HRM, Financial Control, and Legal teams on pension and RMSF matters.
• Respond to inquiries from staff, retirees, auditors, and external bodies on pension/RMSF rules and calculations.

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science, Mathematics/Statistics, Economics, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources Management, or Business Administration.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in Pension Benefits Administration, preferably in a multi-lateral sector.

• Languages: English: Mandatory l Arabic: Preferred l French: Preferred

SKILLS & NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, especially in policy drafting and technical reporting.
• Strong understanding of pension and post-retirement medical schemes designs and funding models.
• Solid grasp of actuarial valuation principles and financial reporting related to pensions and long-term liabilities.
• Working knowledge of applicable pension regulations, social security coordination, and compliance frameworks.
• Good command of HR systems and tools, including payroll and pension modules.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills with attention to accuracy and detail.
• Ability to interpret and apply complex policies and explain them clearly to staff and management.
• Skilled in managing confidential information and exercising sound judgment.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills to engage with staff, retirees, actuaries, and internal stakeholders.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint, actuarial modeling tools and other analytical tools for modeling, reconciliation, and data validation.

ABOUT APPLICATION PROCESS

If you meet the criteria and you are enthusiastic about the role, we would welcome your application. To complete the application you would need the following document(s):

• Resume/CV
• Copy of passport
• Academic certificate
   

If you are currently an IsDB Regular staff applying for this role and get selected through the competitive selection process; your current contract type and other terms and conditions will remain unchanged.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) does not ask for payments of any kind from applicants throughout the recruitment process (job application, CV review, interview meeting, and final processing of applications). In addition, the IsDB does not request information on applicants’ bank accounts. The IsDB declines all responsibility for the fraudulent publications of job posts or job offers in its name or, in general, for the fraudulent use of its name in any way whatsoever.